Welcome to another chapter of our ongoing story and the new year. We're getting towards the end of this arc. How much higher might the stakes get as these mysterious individuals keep attacking our heroes? Will they ultimately get what they're after or will our heroes successfully hold them off? Could the teens get closer to the truth of the matter, win or lose? Will I stop asking these questions? Yes. As always, thank you for reading our story and never ending thanks to our Beta Reader, Eneko, for helping keep this story coherent.

Chapter 43

The Royal Showdown

Part I

Duel Academy

Beach

The gentle waves were the only sounds most would hear late at night. It was one of the more quiet areas of the Academy, unless an act of nature threatened the area. Wind also blew by, passing through many empty shack stands that would sell food and items for the summer.

On this particular night, however, any visitors might also have heard a young man's footsteps in the sand. This was due to Barclay, who'd made his way onto the beach after magically emerging in a nearby forest.

He knew the Gate had activated in response to that energy attack, somehow redirecting it to power a teleport spell for him and his friends. A defensive feedback loop was nothing to sneeze at, even if he was totally on his own now.

Regardless of how it had happened, he knew his best plan now was to find something akin to civilization to use as a starting point.

"Tidy view," Barclay said, looking out to the dark ocean under the starry sky. "What do you say, Gwen?"

"I say you should be trying to find whoever did this," the spirit replied, materializing in the air behind him.

"I'm sure they're hoachin' looking for me," he replied. "Let them spend all their energy running around trying to find me."

"You don't seem to be taking this very seriously…" Gwen sighed.

"You'd rather I run about like a headless chicken?" Barclay asked, barely turning away from the water to look at her. "My money's on them not wasting much time before showing up to try and capture me."

"What about your friends?" she asked, floating around to be directly in front of him. "You don't want to try finding them?"

"They're all competent," Barclay answered, though he couldn't keep some worry from his voice. "I'm sure- I ken they're alright."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Gwen pressed.

"Aye."

Despite his response, she wasn't convinced but knew he wouldn't talk with her about his real feelings, and decided to let it go.

The pair continued down the beach, aiming for the small rental shack closer to the edge of the beach. Barclay remembered seeing an old-style cordless phone behind the desk, and if it still worked (unlike his cell), he could try to contact their allies.

The rental shack itself was an unassuming off-white hexagonal building, with a well-worn deck (on stilts in case of flooding) and a thatched palm roof. Colorful signs around the exterior listed various beach gear for rent, a selection of snacks and cold drinks, and the lifeguards' schedule. The windows were closed, however, and no light seeped from gaps in the shutters.

"Of course it wouldn't be that convenient," Barclay muttered as he circled the building looking for a door.

"So these tiny houses are left open even when no one's on the beach?" Gwen asked.

"They're supposed to be, aye. Some people prefer beach trips without having to pack sunscreen," he replied. He tested the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Aw, come on. With magic and card spirits being real all of a sudden you'd think the universe could unlock a door or two along the way."

"How exactly do you think this kind of quest works?" she asked, a bit mockingly. "Being a good boy certainly helps, but it isn't the only reason you get rewarded, no matter what the childrens' stories have to say about it."

"You're a spirit from a children's game yourself, I wouldn't talk." Barclay felt around the edge of the door, not trusting his eyes to find a key hook in this light.

"Excuse me?" she roared before grabbing both his cheeks to pull. "Is that any way to speak to a Queen?"

"Don't know, I'll let you know when I meet one." he replied in a snarky but ungarbled tone.

She let go and turned away with a very un-queenly pout. "It's no wonder your teachers barely tolerate you, with an attitude like that. You're barely fit for polite society on your best days."

"I'm a Scot, it's my prerogative," Barclay added before checking the sides of the door once more. He sighed when he found nothing. "Of course they're not that lazy."

Before either could do something else, they heard what sounded like high-pitched whistling noise heading towards them. They looked over to the direction of the noise, seeing what looked like a flaming tank shell heading right to them.

With such little time, Barclay leapt out of the way and scurried to the other side of the shack, evading the explosion from the attack.

"Woo-boy! Now that's a mighty fine explosion!" a modulated synth-robotic male voice remarked with what sounded like a Texan accent. "You still breathing over there, pardner?"

"Told you they weren't going to waste much time before making themselves known." Barclay laughed nervously, eyes wide.

Gwen just stared at him incredulously, too panicked to catch the fear in the laugh.

Both could hear the cliché clinking of cowboy boot spurs as their enemy got closer and closer, eventually stopping a few feet away.

"If you ain't dead, kid, you best come outta hiding," he continued. "Old Betsy here's shot down buildings way stronger than that tool shed."

To make his point, he took a shot at the sea, causing a huge explosion of water that soaked some parts of the beach.

Barclay and Gwen traded nervous glances.

"Who the hell brings high-power firearms to a school?" he muttered before calling out. "Who are you and what in the bleedin' seventh circle of hell do you want?"

The gunman chuckled. "Glad to know you're alive. Name's Saturn, and I'm here on top-secret orders. I don't see a point in tellin' ya more of what you already know."

He didn't see a reply, only saw part of the Slifer student's head leaning out, trying to get a better idea of who he was dealing with.

The individual wore a mask with a silver half-circular crown that gave the impression of large ears. The face was blank and metallic like an old Sentai series mask with bright yellow eyes. The rest of the body was clad a tattered tan cloak that was pushed aside to reveal a metallic arm and metal clad legs. The rest of the outfit gave the impression of stereotypical old western cowboys. Several holsters rested on his hips, none of which looked big enough for the dusty gray hand cannon currently aimed at the sand.

"Great…" Barclay sighed.

He got up on his feet, back against the wall behind him.

"If I come out in the open, will you agree to settle this with a Duel instead of shooting me again? I don't know about your bosses, but I wouldn't think shooting an unarmed teenager is fair play," Barclay called.

"Of course it wouldn't, but I don't particularly care either way, pardner," he remarked while reloading and pointing the gun forward. "It's more fun to see my prey squirm anyway, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy before I take out a target."

"Typical…" Barclay groaned. "Now what?"

"Now this," Gwen said before outlining a plan.

Saturn was about to fire but suddenly saw a pillar of light that exploded, disappearing after a few seconds. When he looked back at where the source of it was, he found himself now face-to-face with his target, only now he wasn't unarmed.

Barclay now held a gleaming silver shield with delicately intricate filigree and brandished a pure silver sword.

"What in the Sam Hill…? None of the bosses told me you could do that," the sharpshooter remarked with surprise. "Though I ain't complaining, just means now you'll be something worth taking down.

"Alright, let's start this rodeo."

The two were silent for a moment, sizing each other up and planning their approaches. A single leaf blew off a nearby tree. Both decided to see that as a starting signal, and watched it for the few seconds it took to land on the beach.

Right when it landed, the two went running.

Saturn's attempts were that of a madman as he popped shot after shot, though each one barely missed due to his target's quick maneuvers thanks to his martial arts training he endured.

The Slifer student had a few close calls however as he almost tripped from the sand, though thankfully the shield he had was way stronger than it looked and tanked each shot and kept the explosions contained. One however was a bit stronger as it knocked him back a bit and kept him on the defensive as his enemy kept reloading and firing more quickly.

'Okay… I have one idea about getting out of this standstill, but I doubt you'll like it,' Barclay thought to Gwen, picturing what might happen.

"Well, you're right to doubt! That's the riskiest move in any warrior's playbook, and you barely have any training!" she protested.

'It's either go with a crazy idea or get shot, so…'

Gwen just sighed. "Any port in a storm. All right, I'll show you what I want you to do."

He took a deep breath, pushed forward, and threw his sword directly at Saturn.

"Whoa Nelly!" The sharpshooter dove out of the way, landing face- and gun-first in the sand. He got up quickly and brushed himself off, but when he turned to shoot at Barclay again, his gun jammed. A little burst of sand came from the firing chamber.

Saturn made an annoyed noise, but as he was turning Old Betsy upside-down to shake the sand loose, a flash of silver caught his eye. Barclay was standing in front of him with a smile, right hand resting on the sword now sticking out of the beach.

"Thanks for your help, Your Majesty. Hope that was what you had in mind," he said, a bit too casually considering he'd been shot at.

"Now, the next step," his spirit remarked as she began channeling energy into her master's mark, preparing for the next part of the plan.

"Like shootin' fish in a barrel," Saturn remarked, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Saturn rotated Old Betsy's chamber and pulled again, but got the same result. "Dagnabbit, I know Old Betsy had enough ammo in her earlier! What's goin' on here?"

As he asked, a powerful energy emerged and caused him to look down. Both of them were in a magic circle, similar in design to what the other legendary planets did, but in the center was a sword and shield together, the icon of the Gate that Barclay owned.

"Simple reversal of fortunes," Barclay replied.

Gwen materialized with a serene smile on her face. "The nice thing about binding circles is that they're one of the easiest spells to replicate, even without help from a spirit."

"Haha, not too shabby pardner, but this ain't my first rodeo."

With a powerful surge, the Slifer student found himself pushed back by some unknown force.

Smog blanketed the area, presumably from Saturn's gun.

"Can't hit what ain't in view, can you?" the gunman taunted. His voice echoed over the beach now.

"You know, son, I can see into your head from here. And boy howdy, what a view. Last time I saw one this messed up was from a pig in the slaughterhouse. What do you think your posse of friends would say if they knew who you really are? If they learned the truth?"

Two feminine figures emerged from the clouds. The smaller one reached up to Barclay, only for the larger figure to slap her hands away.

And that was when the smog started whispering at him. The words overlapped, and it was only loud enough that Barclay could tell it was a human voice, but the words he was able to make out chilled him:

"Why'd you leave…?"

"…need help…she's hurting…"

"Protect me…you said you would…!"

A shockwave burst out of Barclay and cleared the smog in an instant, revealing Saturn braced for impact.

"Don't go digging around where you're not welcome," Barclay snarled.

Saturn cleaned some dust off his robotic hand with a chuckle. "Well now, the kitten's got big-boy claws on him! I can't wait to see my bosses' faces when I tell 'em how wrong they were about you Guardians."

"If you wanted to see claws, I already suggested a Duel," Barclay growled as he tightened his fist in anger.

"And where would the fun be in doing the cliché? Though seeing as how we're both stuck in this, guessing now there's no choice but to do it the boring way."

With that, he grabbed an object from his back, pulling it forward to reveal it.

The item had the display panels of a Duel Disk. It was mostly shiny black with chrome strips at both ends, and was as long as his arm. It narrowed towards the elbow and widened at the wrist and the curvature matched his arm as well.

He placed it atop his hand, causing wires from a compartment at the bottom to open and connect to his arm. In seconds, it activated and functioned like a normal Duel disk, wrapping around his arm and triggering its blade.

It glowed a bright white and took the form of a half-arc. As the initial brightness died down, it became clear that it wasn't just a solid blade of light, but rather machinery and gears could be seen moving and shifting between the edges of the blade.

Without a word, Barclay released the blade and doffed the shield to don and activate his own Duel Disk.

Both Duelists triggered their Duel Disks, causing the circle they were inside to Flux. It was almost as if there was a struggle going on. Despite that, it soon stabilized as they could feel that it would provide them their battlefield for the time being.

They then inserted their Decks as Barclay also donned his visor.

With that, they need only say one more phrase.

"Let's Duel!"

Barclay - 8000

Saturn - 8000

From the circle surrounding them, two spotlights highlighted the Duelists and began flickering off and on rapidly until the one on Barclay remained on.

"I go first then," Barclay growled as he looked at his hand. "I'll open by playing a card face down and summoning Noble Knight Borz (4/1700/900) in Attack Mode."

A bright portal lit up the field as a figure walked stepped out with a red cape flowing behind him. The figure wore bulky, blue armor with jagged white accents and multiple rubies inlaid. Short, dark hair hung from the monster's head and blue eyes glowed from the light.

"Next, I'll equip Borz with Gwenhyfar, Queen of Noble Arms (2/300/300) from my hand." he continued.

A young woman wearing a flowing white dress and maroon shawl stepped out from behind Barclay and towards the field. Her long brown hair was braided into two tails and was topped by a tiara with a white and a purple feather and she wore several pieces of golden jewelry. As she reached the field her form shifted into an elegant, arming sword that floated gently into Borz's hand. As Borz gripped the sword, his features darkened as if a shadow fell across him and refused to leave.

Borz - (Light/4/1700 - Dark/5/2000)

"Now that Borz has an equipped card on him, his effect triggers and allows me to select three of my Noble Arms equip cards," Barclay said as Borz turned around and pointed his blade forward. In seconds, a black beam of light hit as three cards from his master's deck slid out for him to grab. "You then pick one of them for me to add to my hand, the other two go to my Graveyard."

The three cards he revealed were Noble Arms - Caliburn, Noble Arms of Destiny and Noble Arms - Excaliburn. Barclay shuffled then placed them into the Spell and Trap Card slots facedown, causing them to materialize on the field with their backs to Saturn.

A few seconds of silence passed before his opponent made a decision. "The middle one," Saturn remarked.

The card in question spun around to reveal Excaliburn as the other two disappeared. Barclay smoothly added the spell to his hand and put the remaining two cards in the Graveyard.

"Now, it's your turn," Barclay replied as he shuffled his hand and the auto-shuffler reshuffled his Deck.

His opponent chuckled before he drew the first card.

"I'll get this rodeo going by activating a favorite of mine, the Spell Alluring Darkness," he declared. "Thanks to this, I'm able to draw two new cards from my Deck, though I'll have to banish a Dark monster from my hand, else I risk losing the whole dang thing."

After his explanation, his deck glowed with darkness as he drew, revealing his Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast (7/2800/2000) that was just drawn.

The ghost of a red dragon-shaped tank appeared on the field, only for a black tear to immediately open under it. It roared in surprise as two shadowy arms grabbed and pulled it down by the treads.

"Hope those two cards were worth tossing that dragon," Barclay said.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. I'll end it by setting one facedown card and this facedown monster in defense mode," he replied.

Two facedown cards appeared in front of him, one monster and one Spell or Trap.

"My go," Barclay said as he drew a card. "I'll start by summoning Merlin (3/1400/500) in Attack Mode."

A flash of light and a cloud of smoke erupted from the ground. A flair of deep, purple fabric with gold trim cleared the smoke to reveal an old man with long, white hair and equally long, white beard. One hand glowed with a magic aura while the other hand clutched a staff with a shining green stone set in the top, and a little red dragon rested across his shoulders.

"Not so fast. I'll be activating my own card, the Trap Soothing Burial," Saturn remarked as the facedown card he had lifted up. "When I use this, I'm allowed to send any monster card directly to my grave. However, it'll cause me to forgo any attempts at using cards with the same name until the end of this turn."

With that explanation, a single drop of water hit his deck as the card ejected out from it. After grabbing it, Saturn turned it around to reveal The Big Saturn (8/2800/2200). Lastly the card was then sent into his graveyard slot, ending his card effect.

"So you've chucked your key monster?" Barclay asked, raising an eyebrow. "Bold of you. If you don't have anything else up your sleeve?"

Saturn simply tipped his hat, indicating that Barclay was free to continue.

"I activate Merlin's ability, allowing me to Tribute him to Special Summon a Noble Knight monster directly from my Deck," Barclay continued.

Merlin lifted his staff in the air and slammed it to the ground at his feet, creating a small bang and a cloud of smoke.

"Welcome, Noble Knight Bedwyr (4/1600/1500) in Attack Mode."

The smoke cleared around a deep blue portal, through which a young platinum-blond man in full silver plate emerged. A red cape rippled out behind him, and the knight carried a sword carefully wrapped in dark fabric.

"And another of my Noble Arms Equips will be sent to the Graveyard."

Bedwyr then tossed the wrapped blade towards the center of the field where, instead of landing in the sand or becoming embedded into the ground, it fell through. A splash, as if the blade had been thrown into water and the ground rippled briefly.

After sending his Noble Arms - Gallatin card into the graveyard slot, the Slifer student continued with his turn.

"Now Borz, go and show that tube what you got with Royal Thrust!" Barclay continued.

The knight yelled as he dashed forward in an attempt to thrust and pierce through his enemy, but it would not be enough.

Right before he got in range, Saturn's facedown monster flipped up to reveal itself. A blue and green, tank-sized mechanical insect beeped and flashed, projecting a force field from the small spikes on its front two legs that successfully repelled Borz. Each of BM-4 Bomb Spider's (4/1400/2200) legs ended in a sturdy tire, and two rectangular launchers above its midsection were fully loaded with small red bombs.

Barclay - (8000 - 7800)

Saturn - 8000

"Goddamn," Barclay swore as the blow back from the failed attack hit him. "Guess that's all for my turn, then."

'You're rushing in recklessly,' Gwen warned. 'There's no way you missed that this guy's Deck is all Machine Types, known for high Defense.'

Barclay only scowled at his opponent.

Saturn drew and looked at his hand, seeing his next move.

"Right then. I'll start my next trick by setting another card facedown," he remarked as another spell or trap card appeared. "And since I've only lost machines so far, I can Special Summon my trusty Gearspring Spirit (8/100/100) in Defense Mode."

As soon as he finished that statement, a puppet-like monster in a loose purple kimono emerged from a portal, holding a small white box in its hands. Two large wind-up keys slowly turned beside its fox-shaped head.

"Oh, and I'm not limited by the number of Machine monsters in my graveyard, either. Gearspring, showtime!"

The box it held suddenly unfolded into a second Gearspring Spirit, identical in every way except for its white kimono.

"Nothing but Defense? Are you planning on a war of attrition?" Barclay asked. "Trying to bore me to death? I almost would have rather been shot."

"'Fraid you'll be disappointed twice over, then," Saturn retorted. "I sacrifice Bomb Spider and a Gearspring Spirit in order to Tribute Summon The Big Saturn!"

Both monsters soon began glowing as they entered into one big portal that appeared behind Saturn, letting a powerful burst of light dim down as his new monster emerged from it.

A two story tall black orb of a torso loomed into view. A bright white ring encircled the chest and two, massive forearms floated nearby. Set into the orb was the head, a silver half-circular crown that gave the impression of large ears. The face was blank and metallic like an old Sentai series mask with bright yellow eyes. Divots where the arms would connect to the torso contained aquamarine orbs and in the center of the torso was another divot holding a red orb.

"Oh and I'm still not done," he continued. "See, Gearspring has a fun little trick where, once per turn, I can knock one of your monsters straight down to 0 ATK until the end of that turn."

After explaining, the white-kimono monster began moving as its two winding keys on its shoulders began turning, causing its hands to glow for a few seconds before shooting two beams of light towards Borz.

Upon hitting the knight, his armor rusted completely and he essentially couldn't keep himself up, causing him to fall to his knees.

Borz (2000 - 0)

"Well that sucks," Barclay groaned. 'Gwen, are you ready?'

'As much as I can be, yes,' Gwen replied.

Their plan however, wouldn't come to pass.

"Oh, and if you think that Her Ladyship's landmine effect would actually work on me, you're crazy," Saturn added. "I only used that effect on your knight to be a dick… Alright Saturn, take down his Bedwyr with War Hammer!"

"Pinpoint Guard!" Barclay countered quickly.

The behemoth bellowed as it moved and swung both of its arms, grasping both hands together to slam them onto its target. Before it could reach though, a wall of light sprang up around Bedwyr. Merlin stepped out of the wall with his staff held in front of him and a sly look on his face.

"OK, so ya special summoned the wizard in defense mode, good trick. But that won't save yer Knight!" Saturn laughed as the attack continued and the massive fist pulverized Bedwyr.

Barclay - (7800 - 6600)

Saturn - 8000

Saturn wiped out some of the sand that got on his shoulders before turning back to his opponent, though he soon realized that someone wasn't in a good mood anymore.

"My turn." Barclay snapped as he drew a card. "I'll start by activating Merlin's effect again, bringing out Noble Knight Medraut (4/1700/1000) in attack mode."

Merlin disappeared into a cloud of smoke and a shadowy form emerged. As the smoke cleared the shadow became a young blond man. He wore simple armor with sun motifs on the chest, belt and knees. A red cape hung from the shoulders and the rest of the body was clad in brown and white cloth that billowed out at the arms and legs. Clasped in one hand was a longsword, with a matching sun design as the cross-guard.

"Then I'll equip him with Noble Arms - Excaliburn," he continued rapidly, the sword materializing in Medraut's hand. "As Medraut now has an equip on him, his level rises by 1 and he becomes a Dark monster."

Medraut - (Light/4 - Dark/5)

The shadows returned to the form. The hair darkening, the eyes hidden, the sun designs on the armor turning black like an eclipse. The shadows gave the appearance of horns on the head and the eyes glowed red with malice.

"But we'll not be seeing these two for much longer, as I use them to form the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus (R5/2200/2200)!"

Medraut and Borz became two black-purple flames that swirled together into a large glowing orb. The orb then became a pillar of light that revealed the new monster. A man with reddish-brown, spiky hair and wearing a small band around his head. The armor and cape were trimmed in fur. The plate mail was silver and edged with gold and two black orbs orbiting the monster.

"Now, since King Artorigus has entered the field, I can select three Noble Arms from my Graveyard and equip them to the King. I choose my Gallatin, Excaliburn, and Caliburn!"

The three swords appeared before him; One, a simple glowing longsword with a gold crossguard and leather-wrapped hilt. The second was a bit smaller, lacking any kind of jewel on the end, and twin blue-green lines ran the length of the short blade. The third, more elaborate than both, split into two points partway down the blade; one side the same blue-green color as Caliburn, and the other a faint red. The swords came together in a burst of light and dust, and when that cleared, Artorigus held a jagged silvery-blue longsword in his right hand. Its golden crossguard was slightly flatter but no less elaborate than Excaliburn's had been, holding a diamond-shaped emerald at the center.

King Artorigus - (2200 - 3700)

"Next I equip him with Gwenhyfar from the graveyard."

Gwenhyfar, rather than becoming a blade like she did with Borz, manifested behind King Artorigus in her humanoid form. This time, she became a ball of energy that shot into the new weapon, causing it to glow even brighter.

King Artorigus - (3700 - 4000)

"Finally, I use one of his Overlay Units to activate his effect and destroy your Big Saturn!" Barclay finished.

As one of the black orbs entered Artorigus, however…

"Sorry, but that ain't happening today, especially after I activate my Rainbow Life Trap," Saturn declared as it revealed itself. "Now after I discard Desperado Barrel Dragon (8/2800/2700), my life points go up whenever I would normally take damage this turn. Nifty, huh?"

The Xyz monster continued its effect, releasing a beam from the sword in its hand, piercing Saturn and causing it to explode.

Its master took this in stride, however.

"Oh, and one other lil' thing. Saturn doesn't take kindly to bein' brought down by card effects. Whenever one destroys and sends it to the Graveyard, we both take damage equal to its attack points. Or, in this case, you do."

A bright white circle appeared under each of their feet. Barclay hardly had enough time to brace himself before the circles exploded, sending dust and sandy water everywhere.

Barclay - (6600 - 3800)

Saturn - (8000 - 10800)

When the clouds settled, the two Duelists were a striking contrast to each other.

The cowboy had not only avoided getting any sand or water on him, but his body was actually glowing like someone had put it under a blacklight.

Barclay, on the other hand, looked like he'd just crawled out of a sand trap. His hair was plastered to his head from sweat and salt water, and he kept blinking to get the sand out of his eyes. A close observer might have seen the young student's hands shaking from adrenaline and pain.

'You need to calm down, you're letting your anger muddle your brain,' Gwen warned, though all she got in reply was the mental equivalent of a shove to one side.

"Oh right, almost forgot; since Desperado was sent to the old graveyard this turn, I can add any level seven or lower monster with a coin toss effect from my deck to my hand."

A silver coin rolled out of the graveyard slot, then flipped itself to land face-up on Saturn's Deck. The machine ejected a single card, which Saturn took and revealed to Barclay as his Twin Barrel Dragon (4/1700/200).

"I Normal Summon another Borz to the field," Barclay snapped as he continued his turn. "And, because I have a Light Normal Monster on the field, I can also Special Summon Noble Knight Gawayn (4/1900/500) in Defense Mode."

The knight stepped out, accompanied by a blond knight in golden plate mail and a green sash waving in the wind. Artorigus greeted them with a firm smile and a raised hand. As they approached, Borz took a battle stance at King Artorigus' left side, while Gawayn knelt at his right.

"Then I activate Caliburn's effect to regain 500 Life Points," Barclay continued, his voice tightening and breath coming a little faster.

Barclay - (3800 - 4300)

Saturn - 10800

"Now, Borz! King Artorigus! Destroy that puppet and attack Saturn's Life Points directly! Show him what you're made of!" Barclay roared.

Artorigus looked back only briefly, almost like he wanted to ask Barclay something. The rage in the young man's eyes never wavered, and so neither would the King. Raising his blade to the sky, Artorigus focused his energy into it, and holy light began to shine from within the blade itself.

Borz, meanwhile, easily bisected the remaining Gearspring Spirit, then motioned King Artorigus forward. An instant later, the King's sword expanded and became a construct blade of pure light, which he swung down onto the enemy.

Barclay - 4300

Saturn - (108000 - 14800)

Once the shock wave and the spots in Barclay's eyes cleared, it only took him a few seconds to realize his mistake.

The gunslinger was glowing again, and stretched like he'd just finished a shower. "Man oh man, whoever said you were the cool-headed one was dead wrong. I only poked you a little bit and you're already going buck-wild? You ain't gonna beat me with the power of spite, kid!"

Barclay grit his teeth and clenched his fist as Saturn laughed triumphantly. Rainbow Life's effect may have ended, but he still had a ways to go if he was going to salvage this.

Welp, once again we're left at a crucial moment in the story and I'm pretty sure a lot of you will hate us for that. Regardless, we'll make it up to you in the next chapter. Thank you again for reading and continuing to follow our story, especially the newcomers. Until next time, have a good day and stay safe.

Translations

Tidy - beautiful

Hoachin' - very busy

Ken - know

Tube - colloquially, "stupid moron"